Love Breaks All Chains
He was back in the same damn laboratory that belonged to those Project: Titan's Spine scientists. What was it that caused them to bring him back? Maybe it had something to do with what had resulted from their previous experiments. Specifically, the Dark Transformation that occurred when Akunin was enraged. During his first experience at Titan's Spine, he had been infected with large quantities of modified chakra that was said to be much darker than standard chakra. According to what he had heard, all past test subjects had died when this new chakra entered their system. However, Akunin survived, and even stuck around to bear the fruits of their labor. Now, he was back in their lab, getting another nice dose of this dark energy. The scientists had immobilized him by locking his wrists and ankles into restraints that were placed appropriately on a flat, table-like structure. Just above him was a device that was supposed to inject the dark chakra into his body. Overseeing this procedure were two scientists, who clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves. "Everything is set, sir." The first one said. "Start it up." His superior chimed. "If he survives this one, we may just have our unbeatable shinobi." With a flick of a switch, the machine would start. Several cables of some sort with sharp edges would come down from the curious machine and pierce Akunin. With a roar of pain, he would try to break free. But alas, the restraints were far too strong. Right after the initial pain, the dark chakra would follow. As if he were being electrocuted, Akunin's body began to spasm from the sudden injection of foreign chakra. Screams filled the room, but no one would be there to deliver the man from his agony. ---- Or that's what he thought. She hadn't seen Spiky Boy in a long time. While hunger played a factor in her search, it was increasingly outweighed by concern for him. He was nice to her, a great cook, and someone she could always bring on adventures and fun. In short, Tenjin had become used to him being around; misgivings about this abrupt end to the meals led the blue-haired lass to seek out her eldest sibling Eihei. She was the best tracker Ten knew, so she had Ei look into the matter. Ei's searches were why Tenjin broke out of the clearing now. Spotting the inconspicuous building that Eihei said likely housed Spiky Boy. Her vision blurred for a second, tears clouding it. Though childish and fairly naive by nature, she couldn't help but catch her sister's grimace when she pointed out this location. A grimace that meant suffering and pain; her arms shifted into RPGs, pointing at the wall. With a furious yell she'd fire, the building rocking as she created her own entrance. ---- As soon as the wall was breached by the girl's sudden attack, an alarm would sound. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER HAS ENTERED SECTOR FOUR!" It would scream over and over. As loud as the alarm was, Akunin could barely make out what it was saying over the rumbling of the machine and his own screams. If there was the slightest chance someone had come to save him, he would be eternally grateful. After the alarm sounded a few times more, several shinobi, all wielding s would run out to meet the lass. "You are trespassing on Titan's Spine property! Surrender or face the consequences!" The apparent leader of the seven men roared. Apparently, the men were either ignorant, or completely unaware of the power that this intruder possessed, for none of them seemed in the least bit concerned...even though a giant piece of the wall that had been there a few seconds ago was now missing. ---- "Where is Spiky Boy!???!!!!" she snarled in response, her chakra roaring to life as she stepped forward. The pressure generated would cause the ground to crack as Ten surged, her hands changing once more as her eyes shown in the legendary ripple pattern. Now more portable semi-automatics, she would unload on her adversaries, firing round after round until they were out of her way, continuing to mow through any and all willing to oppose her. Her tunnel vision would narrow further as she heard the faintest sound of screams. ---- Although there was an unwelcome guest in the complex, the scientists would not simply stop injecting Akunin with this new chakra. More and more dark energy would be pumped into the boy, and finally, he would bring forth the transformation they were anticipating. Akunin's screams would change into something like that of a roar. His unkept, black hair would grow much longer and turn a stark white. Dark class would take the place of his trimmed fingernails, and his skin would be white like his hair. Akunin's eyes would be coated with dark shade of black. Suddenly, the lights went out. The power to the building had been cut off. For a brief moment, the men would be confused about what had happened, but they would soon find the answer. One of the scientists found himself bisected. The only hint as to what may have happened was a dark energy that had begun to pulsate off of a set of dark claws. A second scientist would shriek as his face was gouged by that same set of claws. Akunin had caused his chakra to flow up through the cables that were pumping chakra into him. The dark chakra he already possessed had overloaded the power grid, and plunged the complex into darkness. Akunin slowly started torwards the door. Nothing resembling humanity was left in him, for now, he was a monster. ---- The screams that she had started to follow ended abruptly. Ten dropped the beheaded corpse of one guard as she continued to move forward. Before suddenly recoiling; a foul chakra permeated the corridor as she inched along its length. Her ears would catch the sound of roars; they grew louder by the second. With the new sound Ten would break into a blind run, using the faint glow of her own eyes to pierce the inky blackness of the building. Her heart continued to fill with trepidation as each step came to pass; the darkness magnifying the silent loneliness that appeared destined to last. ---- "Stop him!" An apparent leader of a squad of heavily armed men snapped as he and his team ran into the door. The first two men would charge a crazed Akunin with their chakra sabers blazing, only to be cut down by his claws. A third would attempt to slice of his hand in a glittering arc, but alas, Akunin was too fast. The aggressor would find that his target had disappeared for a moment, only to reappear behind him and impale him on his arm. Sliding the corpse off, he turned to face the terrified remainder of the squad. The only hint as to what happened was the terrified shrieks of several men, just before an ominous silence. Now, Akunin was on the move, quickly traversing the maze of a complex. After a few turns, he would encounter a few more men who tried to stop his progress. These too, were ripped apart. ---- The return of screams would give speed to her limbs. She would navigate through a maze of retreating forms in the darkness, obliterating them while going the way they came from. Once again, a forbidding silence would take hold, the woman slowing down as caution took over. She transformed her arm into a longsword as she listened the oncoming footsteps. ---- Suddenly, a body would be sent flying down the corridor and slam into the furthermost part of the wall at Tenjin's side. The lifeless corpse would slide down it's side until it collapsed onto the ground. Heavy breathing could be heard from down the hall. Closer and closer, the monster of a boy would slowly come closer to Tenjin's location. When he rounded the corner, he saw someone standing in his way. It was hard to tell who, or what, but it didn't matter. Sanity had taken it's leave long ago. Akunin would appear next to Tenjin, and attempt to slice her with his claws. The dark chakra that had corrupted him was taking over, he could barely feel himself. ---- She would hear the thump as the dead body crashed into the wall in front of her. Ten would barely have time to ponder who or what had sent that her way when it was suddenly in front of her. Two brutal slashes would find their mark, deep jagged wounds marking her frame as she was forced backwards. They would well with blood as she screamed; her mind going blank as her dōjutsu responded to her call. With an almighty heave, she'd force everything around her backwards, tearing up the floors, bending the walls like plastic, as all became present became subject to her whims. The lass would then fall to her knees, her bleeding slowing to a trickle as her body began repairing itself. ---- The monster would be flung backwards into a wall, causing Akunin to grunt with pain. However, he was not stagnant for long. Gathering himself, he would use his monstrous speed to flicker over to where the girl had broken down. Blood dripped from his claws as he made a grab for Tenjin's exposed throat. He had found his target, for Akunin could feel the neck of his foe in the grip of his hand. Turning, he would slam her into a wall, and prepare to finish her off. But as soon as he raised his free hand to cut through the face of his victim, something came over him. "Tenjin... The beast's eyes were wide with surprise as they returned to their normal light blue color. Slowly but surely, his demonic form would retreat. All that was left was a shocked boy, traumatized by the fact he had almost killed the person he loved most. His hand left her throat, and Akunin fell backwards onto his rear end. "No... No... No..." He aould repeat over and over, his hands clutching his black spiky hair. "What am I doing? I... I..." He tried to finish, but he was too overcome by his own emotions. Tears started to stream down his face. "Tenjin, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry, Tenjin..." ---- Unused to the intensity of one vs. one combat, she would find herself slammed against the wall once more, her back cracking from the impact as the wind was knocked out of her. More blood flowed as his grip increased, the young woman beginning to lose consciousness as her oxygen supply was cut off suddenly. Unfocused, she subconsciously activated it once more, but the technique merely pushed the beast an inch, rustling its hair. Hair? That's was weird; it didn't have hair before... Suddenly released as he skirted back, she slumped downwards. Turning her gaze to recognized the familiar hair style, her dōjutsu honed in on the familiar hair style. Ten then gave a sleepy smile to the sobbing figure. "Spi...ky...Boy." Standing on wobbly legs as her body was forced to heal once more, the young woman slowly made her way over before involuntarily sitting down as her legs went out from under her. Ten shook her head to clear it, missing pieces of incessant apologies as she deactivated her dōjutsu. ---- More sobs would escape from the mentally broken boy as he continued to whisper desperate apologies. But he would be interrupted by the footsteps of another wave of armed Titan's Spine soldiers. Suddenly, the two would find themselves surrounded. The only thing lighting up the dark corridor were the glowing sabers wielded by the dozens of men. "He is no use to us anymore." The leader would say. "Rather, kill him and take the girl alive." When Akunin heard this, his blood began to boil. Slowly, he rose to his feet and faced down the leader. "...way..." He would mumble as he clenched his fists. The dark aura that had been felt earlier on was returning. His hair started to turn white again, and his eyes were dyed an eerie black. "What did you say?" The now concerned leader asked as he took a step back. By this time, Akunin's transformation had completed. His claws were back, and his skin like the moon's surface. "STAY AWAY!!!" He roared as he flung himself into the midsts of the crowd. He started slashing wildly at the men in front of him, blood and detached limbs were flying everywhere. After pinning the leader of the guard to the ground and severing his head, he would turn around to find several of the soldiers making a grab for Tenjin. "NO!" He would scream as he leaped over her to engage her agressors. Before they had even come into contact with her, they would find themselves in the next life. After dispatching the last of them, Akunin scooped Tenjin up bridal style, and made a wild dash down the corridor. Somehow, the power had come on. The sudden flood of light almost blinded Akunin's eyes, and the blaring alarm made him jump. "Please forgive me Tenjin..." He said as he tried to sound friendly in his sinister new voice. "I'll get you out of here... I promise." ---- Tenjin lifted her head up at the sound of footsteps before realizing they were surrounded. Upon hearing what they had to say, she recognized things were going to get ugly quickly. However, as she would have time to ponder these sudden change of plans (on the part of the aggressors) as several soldiers reached in her direction. Ten vaguely remembered doing something new with her eyes: out of desperation? Fear? A white-haired monster who had tried to decapitate her like the leader. But the terrifying entity was Spiky Boy right? Did that make it ok? All of this new information coupled with the anarchic, grotesque surroundings made it difficult to focus. Such surroundings would remind her of the battle she watched between her future sisters and her mother Jasmine Woman. Blood, gore, uselessness; at least she had saved her sisters right? Kept them from becoming bodies in the ground. So much blood...such cold heartless eyes Jasmine had....the tsunami threatened to overwhelm her as she squeezed her eyes shut, a Shinrai Tensei building within and threatening to explode from her person. Yet all she heard was bodies drop and a sinister voice speaking to her. Ten tried not to jump at the sound. She kept reminding herself that it was Spiky Boy scooping her up, not a murderous beast ready to rip her apart. It didn't help that each syllable he spoke sounded like nails ripping through a chalkboard. Plus, his jumpiness from the blaring alarm made her own trepidation rise. His energies were all wrong too. She managed a small nod, not trusting herself to do anything else. ---- Akunin could feel Tenjin's unsurety. He wasn't sure if they could ever be the same again. If only he had knew, if only he knew that the one he almost beheaded was Tenjin. But it was too late now, he couldn't undo what had already been done. But he could at least help her get out of this place alive. "Tenjin..." He whispered, his hushed tone sounded like his normal voice. The same voice Tenjin had grown to know. "Do you forgive me?" ---- She shivered slightly, refocusing a bit as Akunin addressed her again. This time, he sounded like Spiky Boy; syllable for syllable, word for word. A voice she had grown to love; and one that solidified that Spiky Boy and the white-haired beast holding her were one and the same. She didn't know what to make of that. Ten had nearly died by his hand; yet those same hands now held her in a tender embrace. Can you forgive someone for nearly killing you? Even if they're near and dear to you? She wasn't sure; a chance at replying would be cut off by the arrival of several reinforcements. ---- The beast came to a complete stop, not sure of what to think anymore. "Guess not." He mumbled. He now looked like Akunin, the dark monster was now gone and only Spiky Boy was left. "But it doesn't really matter to me if you can't. I'll protect you anyways." Setting Tenjin down onto the ground, he stepped out in front of her and faced the guards that had come to take her away. "I promise..." Akunin said as both of his hands were coated in lightning. He had lost his Sharingan because of the extended exposure to this new chakra, and using this technique without it would be quite reckless. But Akunin didn't seem to care. "You will never feel pain like that again." He said, turning his head to Tenjin. "It may not sound very reassuring coming from me, I know I'm the one who hurt you. And you can distance yourself as much as you want to from me after this. But for now, please trust me. Even if you can't ever forgive me..." A now human Akunin would let out a battle cry just before charging the aggresors. The first would fall prey to his chidori, finding his head across the room. However, without his Sharingan, Akunin could not correctly calculate his moves. This resulted in his arm being cut by a chakra saber slash. Roaring in pain, he would turn and impale this man. Blood was now running down his arm, but he didn't care. He had to protect Tenjin. The third and fourth soldiers would be bisected by Akunin's crazed assualt. This left one man to face him. But only for a moment before a chidori emerged from his chest. After pushing the corpse off, Akunin would run over to Tenjin and scoop her up again. "We're almost out." He mumbled reassuredly as they rounded a corner and a window came into view. ---- She was pacing outside. She had her own misgivings about sending her sister off alone; Tenjin had too little combat experience compared to the rest of the family. Coupled with a dōjutsu that everyone in the world seemed to covet; it meant ever present danger. She shifted her feet as soon as she heard the alarm sound; power building her eyes as she prepared to warp inside. Tenjin squirmed a bit before being set down. At the same time her mind raced; trying to keep up with the hoard of movements made by Akunin as he dealt with the reinforcements. His monstrous form melted away, revealing her beloved Spiky Boy. Beloved? Where had that word came from? Confusion set in once more as she was picked up again, Aku mumbling as he took off in a run once more. ---- Akunin began to pick up speed as his right arm shifted. Tenjin's head would now rest on his bicep as he extended his arm out and formed a lightning spear to take out the window. As the glass fell, he prepared to jump. But not before quickly launching a second spear torwards a generator of some sort. When Akunin jumped with Tenjin in his arms, a fiery blast would propel him forwards into the air. He held Tenjin close, even while the explosion scorched his back. "That should have taken em out." He thought as he suddenly found himself plummeting down to earth. Flipping himself, he made sure he would land on his back so that Tenjin wouldn't be crushed. The two made their way to the ground, Akunin sliding on his back before coming to an abrupt halt. His back hurt, a lot. But he still held Tenjin despite the pain. "Are... You ok?" He coughed while wincing from the hot fire sensation in his back. ---- The woman would be stopped from her transport as she heard glass shatter and two figures plummet to the ground. Focusing her dōjutsu, Ei made an impromptu surface for them to land on, attempting to soften the hard landing before lowering them to the ground. As soon as she placed them on the ground, she warped to their location. "Tenjin!! Are you alrig-who's this?" she said, picking up the young woman as if she weighed nothing. Her senses went on high alert as she recognized the swirling dark energy within the male. It smelled like and was bad news as far as Ei was concerned. Ten had enough energy to scream in fearful exhilaration as they fell. About to reply to Akunin, she found herself in the arms another familiar figure: her sister. "Resilient Red!!!!" she exclaimed, hugging the woman before hopping to her feet. Seeing Eihei set her at ease; enough to see the burning embers and scorch marks peeking from Akunin's back. "Don't move Spiky Boy, you're hurt," Ten commented, her eyes rippling as the Rinnegan awoke once more. Sitting him in an upright position, energy spilled from her hands to his back, the seventh walkway going to work. ----